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Springbok and All Black stars carded in crunch Japan Rugby League One clash
Springboks and All Blacks featured heavily in Saturday’s action in Japan Rugby League One when Shizuoka Blue Revs faced Suntory Sungoliath in the day’s big fixture.
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All Blacks captain Sam Cane opened the scoring when he peeled down the blindside from a rolling maul to score a try for the Sungoliath.
The Sungoliath mounted a comeback twice to hold on for a 29-25 win which propelled them into second place in the league.
Springboks flanker Kwagga Smith went one-on-one with his teammate Cheslin Kolbe down the left hand side early in the first half but Kolbe was up to the challenge to a make a saving tackle. Smith’s offload went forward and the opportunity went missing.
The Blue Revs took the lead 10-5 but a wayward tackle attempt by Smith ended up earning a yellow card after a clash of heads with star Japanese fullback Kotaro Matsushima.
Cane joined the Springbok on the sidelines a short while later after for repeated infringements on the try line, taking a yellow card for the team. The Blues Revs extended the lead to 15-5 heading into the break with the Sungoliath needing to overcome a deficit.
Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe looked certain to score early in the second half with his trademark right foot step beating Kiwi Malo Tuitama.
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But former All Black and Tongan international Charles Piutau produced a stunning play to punch the ball out of Kolbe’s arms right on the tryline and prevent the score.
The two sides traded tries with a try to fullback Sam Greene keeping the lead for the Blue Revs heading into the final quarter. Another try assist by Greene looked to have sealed the game with an eight point lead 25-17.
Kolbe got another chance with a carbon copy of his first opportunity, this time with Piutau absent he stepped inside Tuitama to coast through and score a classic try with 10 minutes remaining.
🔥 @CheslinKolbe scoring a RWC2019-esque try in Suntory’s come from behind win over the Blue Revs. #SaffasAbroad pic.twitter.com/rbdLyihs00
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) January 13, 2024
The Sungoliath stole the game with two minutes left when they crossed through No 8 Ryuga Hashimoto out wide after moving from touchline to touchline.
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In other Saturday fixtures, Yokohama Canon Eagles defeated BlackRams Tokyo by 24-8 to move into fourth on the ladder and the Panasonic Wild Knights demolished Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars by 81-21 to remain undefeated atop the standings.
Match Summary 
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Penalty Goals
0
4
Tries
5
1
Conversions
2
0
Drop Goals
0
112
Carries
147
4
Line Breaks
7
10
Turnovers Lost
12
2
Turnovers Won
3
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
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